Shoe-shank stiffener.



No. 874,804. PATBNTED DBO. 24, 1007. 110.0011011.

SHOE SHANK STIEPENER. APPLIUATION FILED Nov. 2a. 1004. RENBWBD MAY 10. 1007` INVENTOR UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.-

FRANK G. DELBON, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO HYGIENIC SHOE SHANK COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

lSpeeication of Letters Patent.

. Patented De'c. 24, 1907.

Application tiled November 2391904.'SerialN0.'288.931 Benewed'lay 10. 1907.. Serial No. 372.895-

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK G. DELBON, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Shank Stifteners, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in.

shank-stieners for shoes, boots-'and the like, and consists in the. novel features ofl construction hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The obj ect of the invention is to roduce a.

light, easily Lftpplied, inflexible meta lic shank or shank-st' ener whose structural features are such that it possesses a breaking strength in excess of any natural strainor weight to pense, and it adds iife to the wear of theshoe which it may be subjected when in use, and which shank-stifener due to its construction possesses many features of advantage in practical use, among which it may be mentloned that it reserves the roper form and prevents t e breaking own of the' shoe, it affords the roper support for the arch of the foot, it ena les the construction of a shoe having an inflexible shank portion and a perfectly flexiblesole, which is the ideal construction, it enables the roduction of what is known in the art as a fish bone nish of the shoe shank, without extra labor or ex.

and reserves its form and appearance.

Tige invention will be fu ly understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference bein had to the accompanying drawings, inw 'chz Fi re 1 is a bottom view of a metallic sha stiiener constructed in accordance with and embodying my invention, this stiffener being of the form employed for ladies high-heeled shoes; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of same on the dotted line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse section of same on the dotted line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Fi 4 is a side elevation, vpartly broken away, o a shoe eqlipped with the shank-stifener presented 1n 1g. 1.

In the .drawings 10 designates the shank stiifener, which 1s 1n one lntegral piece of` vupwardly toward its upper end 11.

. (Fi 3) and creates on thelower side of the st' ener a pronounced rib and on the u per side thereo atlongitudinal groove, and om this depressed or rib portion 14 the sides 15 of the stiffener arch upwardly and Voutwardly, as shown. The rib 14 does not eX- tend Ventirely to the upper end 11 of the stiener, since said end 1s intended to be `leftplain, for convenience in applying the stiffener to the position in the shoe shown in Fig. 4, nor does the rib extend to the edge 13 of the broad lower end 12 of the stiifener but terminates at the point 16, which represents the lower'end of the shoe shank proper, while beyond this point 16 the stiener 1s formed with the substantially iiat triangular?r shaped section 17 which enters the soleal joining the lower end of the shank and from which .the stiener, starting from the well defined diverging lines 18 arches or cur'lvls e side edges of the shank curve inwardly toward each other intermediate the ends of the shank, the shank being narrower at itsmiddle transverse portions than at its 'end portions, as shown. The stiffener has thus the longitudinal ribA portions 14 and transversely -and longitudinally upwardly arched side portions 15, 15, and as a consequence the stiffener is rendered capable of withstanding any natural strain or weight that may be placed upon it.- The formation shown of the ower end 12 of the stiiener is of considerable importance, especially in high-heeled lpart 4the double inclined or iish-bone style to the lower surface of the shoe shank. The shank-stiieners willl be specially made to suit each last, and hence when in the shoes they may be relied upon to preserve the form of the latter and properly su pport the arch of the foot.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure, is:

1. A shank-stiffener in one integral piece of metal having the longitudinal depressed rib ortion 14 commencing at a point 16 at the llower end of the shank and'extending upwardly to near the u er end thereof, said shank at its lower en aving a somewhat triangularly shaped portion shar ly defined,

by outlines 18 divergmg from sai point and froni which the shank arches u wardl toward its upper end, the sides oiPsaid s ank being extended upwardly and outwardly in a transverse direction from said rib portion; substantially Vas set forth.

2. A shank-stiener in one integral piece of metal having the longitudinal depressed rib portion commencin at a point 16 at the lower end of the shank and extending u l wardly to near the u er end thereof, said shank at its upper en being flat and rounded at its edges and at its lower end having a somewhat trian ularly shaped portion sharply defined by out ines 18 diverging from said point and from whichthe shank arches upwardly toward its upper end, and said shank having inwardly curved side edges and sides which extend upwardly and outwardly in a transverse direction from said rib ortion and are upwardly arched; substantially as set forth.

3. A boot or shoe com rising an outer sole having a 'lat tread which) forms an irregular obliquely arranged ridge by its junction with the shank portion, and la shank piece the body portion of which is longitudinally curved to conform to the shank portion of the outer sole, the forward portlon of the shank piece having a ilat face which forms an irregular obliquely arran'gedridge by its junction with the bottom-surface of the body portion, and supports the ridge and the rear portion of the fiat tread of the outer sole.

Si ned at New York cit yin the county of .lew York and State o vNew York this 22nd day of November A. D. 1904.

FRANK G. DELBON. 

